TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady has been enjoying life since he announced his second retirement in February.
The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback continues to host his "Let's Go!" podcast, appeared on an episode with YouTuber MrBeast and visited his first NFL team, the New England Patriots, as fans honored him before the team's season opener.
In the eyes of many, Brady has always been a brief man and didn't share too much of his thoughts in postgame press conferences or interviews.
However, the seven-time Super Bowl winner has recently not shied away from his opinions on how the sport is played nowadays.
Speaking to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on "The Stephen A. Smith Show," Brady expressed that the game is not being played at the same level compared to how it was when he played.
"I think there's a lot of mediocrity in today's NFL," Brady said. "I don't see the excellence that I saw in the past."
Some of the reasons for that, according to Brady, is due to the coaching and development of young players to reach the standard that was set in years past.
"I think the coaching isn't as good as it was. I don't think the development of young players is as good as it was," he said. "The rules have allowed a lot of bad habits to get into the actual performance of the game. So I just think the product, in my opinion, is less than what it's been."
The rules that Brady is talking about come after league officials decided to change certain ones to protect players, such as quarterbacks and defenseless receivers.
These rule changes are made to better the long-term health of players but may make it more challenging to be a defensive player in the NFL. Still, there are some hard tackles that defenders can make that won't result in a penalty.
For Brady, he believes the rule changes haven't transitioned to a better product on the field and some of the players he played against in his days would be flagged for the way they tackled players.
"I look at a lot of players like Ray Lewis and Rodney Harrison and Ronnie Lott and guys that impacted the game in a certain way, and every hit they would've made would have been a penalty [now]," Brady said.
The 46-year-old also mentioned how it's on the coaches to teach receivers how to protect themselves and the league should not make it the responsibility of defensive players to protect offensive players.
"You hear coaches complaining about their own player being tackled and not necessarily, why don't they talk to their player about how to protect himself? We used to work on the fundamentals of those things all the time. Now they're trying to be regulated all the time," he said. "Offensive players need to protect themselves. It's not up to the defensive player to protect the offensive player. The defensive player needs to protect himself. I didn't throw the ball to certain areas because I was afraid players were going to get knocked out. That's the reality. I didn't throw it to the middle when I played Ray Lewis, because he'd knock [the receiver] out of the game, and I couldn't afford to lose a good player."
A hit known as the hip-drop tackle is expected to be considered being banned due to the danger it poses to receivers, according to Bleacher Report.
In recent weeks, Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews and Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis suffered season-ending injuries after defenders tackled them using the hip-drop technique.
Brady and football fans will hear a lot more commentary from him when he begins his broadcast career with FOX in 2024.
In the meantime, Brady will be busy with his minority share in the WNBA side Las Vegas Aces, his partnership with Delta Air Lines and his role as a minority owner of English club Birmingham City FC.
The 45-year-old walked away from football as the NFL career leader in passing yards (89,214) and passing touchdowns (649). As the only player with seven Super Bowl rings and five Super Bowl MVP titles, Brady is regarded as the greatest player the sport has ever seen.
Brady won six of those Super Bowls with the New England Patriots in the 20 seasons he spent playing for coach Bill Belichick. He joined the Buccaneers in 2020, leading them to their second Super Bowl title in franchise history.
